Falling Star
by thehush
Summary: Cassie reflects on her six years on earth, her friendship with Daniel, and her extended family. Spoilers for Season 6.


"Falling Star" by thehush  
  
There is a ledge that overlooks the drop off leading down to the roads that lead to the town below. When Jack had brought her to it the first day she started living on Earth, he told her the locals of the town below called it Falling Star, because people would go up there so they could see the stars more clearly.  
  
It was only later, when she started middle school, that she learned that some also called it Falling Star because people would commit suicide by jumping off of it. She could still remember the boys waiting for her reaction. They had expected her to be grossed out by the idea, their wide eyes eagerly awaiting her to squeal with disgust like all the other girls. She hadn't though. All Cassie did was shrug and go back to the sandwich her mom had made her.  
  
She would never be an ordinary girl – and that thought both fascinated and scared her. This town just below her feet had never watched as day by day, people they knew and loved dropped where they stood, infected with a virus by a false god. They didn't know she had only spent six years of her life on earth and that she still dreamt of Hanka. They had no idea that sitting in the desk across from them, in a normal pair of jeans and a well-worn Air Force t-shirt, was an Alien.  
  
It made her think of all the books Daniel had bought her. Stories about girls from other planets and the lives they lived. Some were even about girls from Earth who went to another planet. Cassie read each one, treasured them. One day, she would travel through the Stargate and try to find the worlds Earth told about. The humans down in the canyon and sprawled out across the planet could believe they were only fiction – but she was living proof that there were girls growing up all across the galaxy. Girls just like her.  
  
Cassie let her head rest against the cool metal of the railing the state had put up so careless star gazers wouldn't fall to their deaths. The stars above sparkled brightly, as clear as the glitter on her nails. She silently called to them, telling each speck of light to tell her a story. She missed being told stories; they had stopped when she turned sixteen. Everything stopped at sixteen – even people. Daniel's death still kept her awake at night, staring at her ceiling covered in glow in the dark stars. Jack had told her he had 'ascended'. She didn't know what that meant, but when she watched him quietly sit and drink, unaware that anyone was watching – she decided that that was enough explanation.  
  
Looking up at the stars, she wondered if he was looking back down at her, like a guardian angel. Her mom had told her all about angels when she had her first Christmas. She had always wondered if what her mother said was true, if there were angels watching over her and her family. Did angels watch over Alien girls?  
  
A sudden rush washed over Cassie, causing her to look back at a familiar figure walking down the path from the woods. She wouldn't tell him, but she had sensed Jack coming towards her as soon as he left his house. The advancements Nirrti had made on her, even though reversed, seem to have grown into something else. They had opened up little parts of her Nirrti probably had known were there, but were waiting to develop when she herself had taken Cassie as a host. The idea of Nirrti storming around in the afterlife while she still had her body made her smile.  
  
"Hey Jack." She waved, scooting over a little so he could sit beside her.  
  
He slowly sat down, a comforting aroma of beer and cologne wrapping her up in a warm embrace even before he did. Since Daniel's death, he had been coming to see her more frequently. It made her feel better, knowing he still thought about her enough to make sure she wasn't suffering as much as he was. It was clear that he was.  
  
"You alright? You left before the card game." He took a sip from his beer and put his forehead close to hers.  
  
She felt sheepish for a moment. It was Jack's annual 'we survived' barbeque. Every year her 'family' would get together, eat and hang out. Sometimes Jack would get some of them to play street hockey or even softball – but they would all sit around when it got around eight and play a few hands of some card game. Her friends never understood why she liked having them all together in one place. They couldn't fathom why soaking her family up was so much better than ditching the 'parentals' and going to the mall. If only they knew that, these people, these humans, were the very reason they could know her. The very reason she was alive.  
  
Yet, something was missing this time – and she didn't have to tell Jack what it was. "Sorry, I just needed to clear my head."  
  
He nodded, briefly touching his forehead to hers before looking back up at the stars. "Jonas isn't as fun as Daniel, is he?"  
  
Cassie laughed, leaning away from the railing. He always had a way of saying things to put her at ease. "Right now, Daniel would be asking me what my plans were for after graduation. He would always come over and help me with my research papers, teach me little things in other languages so I could impress teachers, sneak in after mom put me to bed to tell me stories- He promised we would go see Egypt when I was older." She bit her lip. "I'm older now-" Shaking her head, Cassie rattled on. "He always called if he couldn't come and wish me happy birthday. Always told me he wished I could meet his brother-in-law." Another laugh. "Dominic was such a jerk, I wish I could have met Skaara." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jack look down at his beer, the shadows swallowing up everything but the light in his eyes. "Oh Ja- I'm sorry." She put a hand on his arm and she felt like a daughter comforting her father. "I'm really sorry. I'll shut up."  
  
His laugh was hoarse, but welcoming. "No Cass, its okay. You just- I just wish-" Jack ran a hand through his short gray hair and gave her his usual grin. "I bet he's smiling down at you right now."  
  
"Like a guardian angel." She smiled back at him and shook her head. "I wish I could talk to him. It would be cool if he could come down here and talk to me." She looked off at the horizon. "I miss his stories."  
  
The man beside her started to stand up, dusting his jeans off before brushing her hair down with his hand. "You never know, Cass. He might just." 


End file.
